Speeches by Glen.

“I want to turn to the growth outlook. Before I ask my question, I think one of the things that people will have noticed is the great amount of volatility in the predictions and the numbers. For March, I think the GDP figure from the ONS was an expansion of 0.3% but, as has been reported, Reuters polled economists and a…”

“Dr Dhingra, is there anything you would like to say on this subject?”

“That has been a pattern for a few years—”

“You mean that outside of financial services is where the sluggishness exists.”

“That just smooths it, so this notion that somehow we are 0.1% higher than other countries in the G7 is—”

“When we look at this situation—that we have the lowest fiscal headroom among the G7, at a time when gilts are at their highest since 1998—it feels like we are in quite a vulnerable position if you look at the two key drivers. What can you say about the best-case scenario for underlying GDP growth up to, say, 2030, give…”

“Just for clarity, I think that the MPR report in February points out that for new mortgages, the increase in rates has been 100 base points on average. Is that in line with your expectations? There was a lot of speculation priced in about what your decisions would be. Does that increase reflect what you would have expe…”

“What do we do about it then? The country sees the growth figures, for which we as politicians generate great big headlines, one way or the other, but they seem pretty meaningless, because they are often restated. If they had been true to what they actually were on the restatement, they would not have generated anything…”

“On that point—this is my last question—we are often told that we are in a much weaker position in terms of our energy costs, but in terms of AI, as a strength and momentum for the economy, how would you characterise where we stand relative to other economies in the G7?”

“Can you be optimistic about our relative position, notwithstanding the US’s leadership?”

“Yes. The new mortgage rates—around 100 base points.”

“The politicians muck it up as ever.”

“I have never heard that before.”

“On that, do you recognise the way that the OBR is slammed for almost being an arbiter of government policy and having the right of veto? That is the way it is presented in some of the political discourse. Has that happened in your country? How do you think that should be handled?”

“Could we move now to the UK fiscal framework? Could you tell us what you think about the UK’s fiscal framework as compared to other countries? What are the ways that it could be changed to produce a less contentious circus of commentary every fiscal event?”

“Could I try to build on this? This Committee is trying to develop sensible recommendations for our Government here in the UK and it is really helpful to have your description of your own system. When you look at ours, I am sure you are familiar with the IFS’s traffic light system proposal and the reaction of Richard Hu…”

“Can I focus in on that long-term forecasting and its value? It seems to me that the OBR in the UK does a very thorough job of assessing the long-term risks and liabilities, but it seems to be completely disconnected from the political discourse, probably to its frustration. It has suggested that we have an annual debat…”

“Yes, that is what I am here to do.”

“I thought you were going to say that. “It’s on us”—which it sort of is.”

“That problem is quite key. It is this problem of defining a quite severe doomsday scenario without prescribing ameliorative policy interventions in the short term because of that apparent lack of licence to do so. Would it not be a helpful iteration of the OBR’s scope to say that, on the long term, there must be some c…”